NSI Survey: Quarter of Bulgarians Have Never Used Internet

Sofia, December 7 (BTA) - Despite the dynamic development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Bulgaria, more than a quarter (26.7 per cent) of people have never used the Internet, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported Friday. More than half of Bulgarians aged between 16 and 74 (54.9 per cent) did not attend computer courses or other forms of training to improve their computer skills over the past 12 months. The data comes from a 2018 NSI survey on ICT use.

Around 8.4 per cent of Bulgarians have participated in free online ICT training, 4.5 per cent were trained by a colleague or mentor at work and 1.9 per cent attended a training conducted or financed by their employer.

The survey data shows that 72.1 per cent of households in Bulgaria have internet access, with a growth of 4.8 percentage points compared to the previous year. Additionally, 71.5 per cent of households have a fast and reliable broadband connection, which, in addition to a fixed cable connection, includes also Internet connection through mobile phone operator networks. Northwest Bulgaria has the lowest share of households with Internet access (65.2 per cent).

Internet usage is more prevalent among young people, as only 17.8 per cent of the 65-74 age group browse the web regularly, shows the survey data.

In 2018, 22.2 per cent of people used the Internet to interact with state and local authorities. The biggest share were those who received information from a public administration website (17.1 per cent) in the last 12 months, followed by those who filled out and submitted online forms, declarations and other documentation (9.5 per cent).